Does God Mean What He Says?

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, 

without which no man shall see the Lord: 

looking diligently lest any man fail of the

grace of God; lest any root of bitterness

springing up trouble you, and thereby

many be defiled; lest there be any 

fornicator, or profane person, as Esau,

who for one morsel of meat sold his 

birthright. For ye know how that afterward,

when he would have inherited the blessing,

rejected: for he found no place of repentance,

though he sought it carefully with tears.

Hebrews 12:14-17

     Before I begin I want to apologize for no blog yesterday for I had a relapse and spent the day wrapped in a blanket trying to sleep. I feel better today. I will also be in the VA Hospital Palo Alto on Monday so no blog. They will remove the sutures and make a plan for the next date for surgery to continue the reconstruction. Pray to God that I will always present Jesus Christ in every situation and that the Gospel will be seen in me, not for my benefit, but for theirs, for the God who saves. Thank you for your prayers!

      As I study the word of God I realize that there is much that I will never get to speak of and write about. God has revealed to us Himself and how we are to live in accordance to His will. There are those who hate to be reminded of the Greek or Hebrew and desire to live in some form of ignorance. Yet, if we do not know what the Bible writers wrote, how they wrote, we cannot know their purpose for writing. Just as in our English, our native tongue, we know of our grammar, and our idioms so that we can understand what is being written or spoken. The Greek speaking persons understood the grammatical form of the words written or spoken, so we  too must understand those words. For instance our English word in verse 14 "pursue" is a verb that has not time stamp to it; it just says to do it, but does not really tell us that we should do it. The Greek word: "διώκετε" is second person, plural, present imperative, active. This Greek word means to put into rapid motion, to pursue, to follow, to follow eagerly, earnestly to acquire. That this word is imperative in the present tense, active means to stop what you are doing and do this: in this case to purse, rapidly, endeavor. What are we to pursue? Peace! This peace is to be pursue to all peoples and to be done with holiness, (sanctification is the better translation of the Greek). Now comes the harsh words of God? "Without which no man shall see the Lord" (verse 14). Wait a minute!! You mean that unless I am pursuing peace, sanctification, I will not see the Lord? Yes! If you are seeking peace, sanctification, you will then be diligently looking towards God and you will not be apt to fall from His grace. If you are doing this pursing, then bitterness, fornication, causing trouble you much trouble. Greater yet, others will see your faith in action and turn from their defiled life. Do you think that God is serious about our hearts, our intentions? Do you think that God will repent from His condemnation for sin? If so, you are wrong. Esau who had the birthright sold it for a bowl of soup. Esau wanted to have what he wanted to satisfy his hunger at any cost. This is lust, wanting what you want: NOW! How did this work out for him? Not so good! He could not be any means retrieve that which he gave away so freely. 

     What are you willing to give away so that you can have your way, to have what you want, to not be told that what you are doing is wrong? We so often give away God's call to save us, and often until a serious chastizement comes you will not relent and repent and turn again and pursue peace, to pursue sanctification, to be diligent in our service to our God, our Lord, our Savior. Don't wait for God's chastizing! This is imperative in the present tense, active: stop doing what you are doing and begin, now, to follow the commands of God. 

But the LORD said unto Samuel,

     Look not on his countenace,

or on the height of his statue;

    because I have refused him:

for the LORD seeth not as man seeth;

    for man looketh on the outward

appearance, but the LORD looketh 

    on the heart.

                         1Samuel 16:7

Pursue Peace, Sanctification

Richard L. Crumb

The Result Of Chastizement: Healing

Wherefore lift up the hands

which hand down, and the feeble

knees; and make straight paths 

for your feet, lest that which is

lame be turned out of the way;

but let it rather be healed.  

Hebrews 12:12-13

     There are times in our lives when despair overrides us and depression sets in and we feel helpless: our hands hang down and our knees are feeble. Yet, we are called to

persevere and to have patience. It is easy to tell someone who is going through some trial to be patient, to endure, and this is a chastizing of God as though the person has sinned. It may be the person has sinned for we are all sinners in one form or another and we are susceptible to the consequences of our sin. Often it is not our sin that is causing this trial, this seeming chastizement, it is rather due to the sin of another person. Remember there is a cause and an action, a consequence that affects more than the person themselves. Albeit sin is the cause for this and the cause for chastizement any chastizing from God is for our good and the good of others. As Joseph spoke: But as fro you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive" (Genesis 50:20). We do not always see the reason but we know who holds the reason to cause it to bring forth good. Jesus spoke these words of comfort: "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). This trial of our faith being that which we will all face if we are Authentic Christians and even though serious it be a source of joy: Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" (1Peter 1:6-7) 

     What is the conflict you are going through? The examples given show that much of the trials and conflicts were because the people of God sinned. There are sins: i.e., homosexuality, adultery, fornication, drunkeness, etc., that cause much trial and need for deep serious chastizing. There are other sins that creep in as doctrines, not truthful doctrines, not the Gospel as recorded in Scripture, but another gospel that is not the Gospel at all. We who call ourselves Christian must fight against such ones who will but their false teaching cause men and women to fall from the truth. We must stay far away from those practices that are not Scriptural even though the leaders of such preach that it is leading people to practice a belief that is not pleasing to God. There are sinful practices, customs, and habits that must be brought under the teaching of Jesus Christ. Authentic Christian must not faint under this evilness, or to faint due to their being chastized for falling under such false teaching, no, we must teach them and how they can bear up under such trials that may come. We lead them to the truth of Scripture as reveals in Scripture. We are the means that caused the Gospel to be spread throughout the world. We are the means to help others in their time of chastizing. We do not forget that the hand of God is present in all things and He is the Only True Wise One and has the answer for all. 

    

These are the things that ye shall do;

     speak ye every man the truth to his

neighbor; and love no false oath: for 

    all these are thing that I hate 

saith the LORD.

                     Zechariah 8:16

Live your faith according to truth

Richard L. Crumb

OH! How I hate To Be Chatized: How Can It Be For My Good?

If you endure chastening, God dealeth

with you as with sons; for what son is he

whom the Father chasteneth not?

But if ye be without chastizement, 

whereof all are partakers, then are

ye not bastards, and not sons? 

Furthermore we have had fathers of

our flesh which corrected us, and we

gave them reverence: shall we not 

much rather be in subjection unto

the Father of spirits, and live? For 

they verily for a few days chastened 

us after their own pleasure; but He

 for our profit, that we might partakers

of His holiness. Now no chastening

for the present seemeth to be joyuous,

but grievous: nevertheless afterward

it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of

righteousness unto them which are

exercised thereby.

Hebrews 12:7-11

     God chastens those Whom He loves! May not seem that way during the chastenizing but it is for our good and that good is to return us to the truth in our words, deeds, thoughts, our worship to God. Left by ourselves we would not what to come back to God because we left Him in the first place thinking that we had a better way, a better understanding. We have examples how God chastizes His people, the curse uoon Adam and Eve, the Great Flood, the imprisonment of Jacob who through His chastizening endured albeit it was not due to his unbelief. The 430 years where the Hebrew people were slaves and even their refusal to worship God and believe God losing their right to enter into the promised land. There are many more examples that could be cited showing that when man does not heed the chastizing of God there are consequences that they had ot face. In every case there is an element of unbelief by either parth and consequences that each had to face due to not allowing this chastizing to cause a renewal of faith. 

     In today's culture children are seldom chastized for their actions. "Boys will be boys" is a cry often heard given some excuse for a reason why a boy has done something considered wrong. Girls are often given a pass due to their being a girl, again an excuse but not a reason for their actions. Children are given freedoms that they have not earned or are given them to soon as they are not yet mature enough to handle consequences that arise. What is not being done is for parents to teach their children right from wrong and then inspect what they expect. Parents must be proactive or there is a great chance that things will not go  well for their children who are under their supervision. Look at our prison, full, overlowing and much due to little or no parenting . 

     Parents make their own excuses why they do not have the time to teach their children. Really?? The truth is: you do not make time. If we are Authentic Christians we do what our God has instructed us to do in regards to our spouses, our children, our workers, and has given us examples how He handles this problem of rejection to His word. WE CHOOSE! God does not take away our ability to choose. God has provided a way to faith, a way to salvation and all that is required is that a person heed the call of God and choose Him, and The Only Begotten Son and allow the Holy Spirit to lead and not to be led by our own desires and lusts. 

      I am writing this without glasses as my nose and forehead are a big long incision and I cannot see well so if I have mispelled, please excuse me. I am healing and will get better for God has provided man and women who are skill doctors, medicines as we never had before. Now, I must choose what God has allowed to be provided for my health. Choice it is is ours to choose.

But the salvation of the righteous

     is of the LORD: He is their strength

in time of trouble. And the LORD shall

    help them, and deliver them: He shall

deliver them from the wicked, and save them,

     because they trust in Him.

                       Psalm137:39-40

Train up your children in the Lord

Richard L. Crumb

Loving In The Image Of Jesus Christ

Ye have not resisted unto blood,

striving against sin. And ye have 

forgotten the exhortation which 

speaketh unto you as unto little

children, My son, despise not thou My

the chastening of the Lord, nor faint

when thou art rebuked of him for whom

the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and 

scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.

Hebrews 12:4-6

     The last three weeks have been in the least trying, a time that no one wants to endure, but many are and dealing with worse things than what I have, Melonomia cancer, The struggle is far from over with two more reconstruction surgeries and other thing that were found during examination. Thanks for friends, but one thing that is discouraging is that those friends do not believe in Jesus Christ and my Church family has not even contacted me, but did leave messages that they would pray for me. Easy to say, but often is only a salve on their desire to sound godly. I am not so upset as I am discouraged for this seems to be the culture of the Church today, go to hear a sermon, go to some events, listen to "Christian Music," etc., but never getting to do intercessory prayer. As Authentic Christians we are to care for our brothers and sisters, not the other way around where non-Christians are doing what Christians should be doing. Why bring this up? 

     Jesus Christ loved us so much that He was willing to lower Himself as the Wisdom of God to become The Only Begotten Son of God, all because He loves His children. We too should love like Jesus. As the writer of Hebrews writes: we have forgotten the exhortation that we are the children of God and while we must go through various trials and temptations, Jesus Christ never leaves us, but we leave Him. How? By not caring for those in need in your Church. Do not do what we as Christians are to do then we will face chastening, one way or form, or another. It is this chastisement that will bring us back into the fold of God's shceep. 

     God does not hate us, He hates sin! God loves us: He died for us! We are to be in His image! So then we all must ask the question, are we really living in the image of Jesus Christ? This is how we help those in need and how we show the love of God to the world. 

     I am writing this under much duress for my eyes are covered much with the skin from my forehead, a flap that will generate new skin where they removed the cancer.  thank you for  your prayers, and do pray for my brother who has been diagnozed with kidney cancer and is facing his time of trial. 

Happy is he that hath God

      of Jacob for his help,

whose hope is in the LORD 

    his God.

                  Psalm 146:5

We are truly blessed

Richard L. Crumb

 

 

 

And this is the Father's will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.

John 6:29

     I had surgery and am getting ready for another one Friday. A lymph node was removed as well to determine if the is matastisis, if so more surgery will be needed. I cherish your prayers and hope to be at it soon. Thank you!

Richard L. Crumb